The Red Ball
by Godell
Summary: pre!series fluff. Envy watches Ed and Al play. A bit of angst at the end.


This is pretty much a pre!series fic, until the end. It's a oneshot, and might someday have a sequel. Yay for Chibi Elric fluff!!

The Red Ball

By

Godell

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

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Envy watched the two children play with a look of sadness upon his face.

The bigger boy giggled and laughed as he chucked a round, red ball at the toddler behind him. "Catch it, Al!" he squeaked as the brown-haired boy screeched to a halt and reached out for the toy. "I've got it, Bruvver!" he cried cheerfully. With a _bonk_, the ball hit Al in the face, and bounced away. Tears began to well up in the child's eyes. The older brother gasped in alarm, and scrambled forward to help him. "Are you okay, Al?!" he asked, panicked. The toddler replied with a wave of tears. "Th-that…HURRRT!!" he wailed.

Silently, Envy picked up the ball and walked over to the two children. "Hey. Here's your ball back." he said, handing the bigger boy the toy. "Thanks, miss." the child replied, gazing up in awe at the mysterious figure. The Homunculus twitched. "I'm a guy. The name's Envy." he sighed, gracefully landing on the grass beside the youngsters. "Oh. Sorry, mister Envy. My name's Edward Elric, and this is my little brother, Al." the boy explained, pointing to the now-sniffling toddler beside him. A smile lit up Envy's face. "Well, hello there. How old are you two strapping young men? Six? Seven?" he humored them, pretending to think hard about the answer. Al spoke up. "I'm two, an' Bruvver is thwee!" he cheered with excitement. The green-haired Sin nodded mock-solemnly. "A good age to be." he agreed, grinning inside. These two kids trusted him completely.

"How old are you, mister Envy?" Edward asked, eyes wide with curiosity. "Me?" Envy pointed to himself in surprise. "Yup!" the two brothers squeaked, leaning forward in suspence. "I'm turning 379 in a few months!" he replied with a wide grin. The boys' eyes became even wider. "_Really_?" the gasped in shock. "Really." Envy nodded sagely. "That's…that's a billion gazillion trillion times older than Mommy and Daddy!" Al waved his arms wildly to prove his point. The Homunculus laughed. "Really? How do you know that?" he asked, getting caught up in the moment. "Because I can calulate!" the toddler answered, grinning triumphantly. "Do you mean 'calculate'?" The green-haired man attempted to stifle a laugh. He hadn't had this much fun in years.

Edward picked up the red ball and handed it to Envy. "Wanna play?"

How could Envy refuse?

--

The sun had long begun to set. Ed, Al and Envy lay exhausted in a circle, the ball in the center. "That was the best game we've ever played!" Ed gasped out, a delighted smile on his face. Al nodded in agreement. Envy smirked, and shook his bangs out of his eyes. "Agreed. But it's getting late. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow." he answered, watching the two boys frown in dissapointment. "You mean…you won't be able to play with us tomorrow?" the older brother asked, biting his lip. "I hate to say it, but nope. But how about this: every day, you two play with that red ball, in this exact place. If I'm not busy, I'll come and play again. Okay?" the Homunculus whispered conspiritually. Both boys nodded happily. "All right. Let's swear by something, too, to make it more special. Any ideas?" Envy questioned. Al raised his hand. "Let's wish on that stone you told us about! The magic one, the 'Losfer's Stone." he burbled.

Nodding, the Sin brought his hand in front of the Elric Brothers. "All right. Repeat after me. 'We solemnly swear…'"

"'We sol'mly swear…"

"'On the Philosopher's Stone'…"

"'On the 'Losfer's Stone'…"

"'That we will play again someday soon'…"

"That we will play 'gain someday soon'…"

"'In this spot exactly'…"

"'In this spot 'zactly…"

"'If any of us breaks this promise'…"

"If any of us breaks this promise'…"

"'The evil Dante will come and eat us all up'!" Envy concluded with a grin.

"'The evil Dante will come n' eat us all up'!" Ed and Al repeated, practically whooping the last part.

"All right. The promise is made. Now, run along home. Your Mommy's probably worried sick." Envy waved, and ran off into the night. The two brothers waved in return, and headed home. The Homunculus watched them from the shadows, a smirk hovering about his lips. "We will meet again, little ones. Though next time I won't be as kind." he murmured, bounding away on tree limbs. He half-wondered if they would remember him. The red ball flashed briefly in his mind. A frown darkened his face. Those few hours were far more precious than they should be.

--

12 years later, Ed and Al sat silently watching the sun go down in that same spot where they had played as toddlers. "Brother, do you think he'll come?" the bodiless armor asked, holding a dusty red ball in his hands. "Of course not, Al! Can't you see it was just a trick?" the alchemist growled, kicking the ball out of his brother's hands. The toy bounced into the trees, leaving a distraught Alphonse behind. "Brother, that wasn't fair! He could have meant it!" he argued, racing towards the trees. "Al, don't!" Ed yelled, turning to run after him. Out of nowhere, a red blur soared through the brush, heading straight for the older Elric Brother.

**BONK. **

"Brother!" Al cried, whipping around. A large, red bump decorated the "Fullmetal Alchemist's" forehead. "Oww…" Ed groaned, sitting up with the ball in his hands. A low chuckle was heard from the trees. Both brothers tensed. In moments, a familiar figure glided through the trees.

"I'm glad you both remembered. It's been awhile since I've come here." Envy said conversationally, standing in front of the younger (and yet taller) Elric. Edward snarled, and ran towards the Homunculus. "You lying jerk! You told us to wait for you, and we _did, _like the stupid babies we were. Do you know how much it hurt to see your face after all this time? How pathetic a felt after you wounded me? And Al, too—it felt as though we'd entered a nightmare even worse than reality!" he raged, throwing a punch at his former-friend. Envy shrugged. "At least I remember how much fun we had." he sighed, dodging punch after punch.

Calmly, he grabbed Ed's automail hand and forced it to the ground. "You were little, and you had no idea what the world was like. I hurt your feelings. End of story. _However, _it felt good to talk with kids for once, instead of power-hungry adults. The 'Bruvver' I remember was a lot more fun to be around." With that, the Homunculus whipped around and walked back through the trees, calling one last remark over his shoulder:

"Oh, and Al, I'm happy that _you_ remember me in a good light. Unlike a certain _Pipsqueak._"

But that last insult went unheaded by Edward. The boy—for that was what he was, on the inside—that was the Fullmetal Alchemist cried silently in the waning hours of the day, the faint sunlight gleaming off the tears he shed for the one thing he'd never have again.

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Is it good, okay, or worthy of a ball-induced bonk on the head? R&R please! I'll give you the red ball if you do!


End file.
